City Council candidate Steve Galvin's campaign manager quits

St. Petersburg -- On Saturday, the same day a Tampa Bay Times story revealed that District 8 City Council candidate Steve Galvin had lied repeatedly about fathering a child and being sued for financial support, his campaign manager announced he had quit.

On his Facebook page, Johnny Bardine wrote:

"It has become necessary for me to sever my professional relationship with Steve Galvin and his campaign for city council. I just notified Steve that I am resigning as his political consultant, effective immediately. I wish him the best of luck."

The Times story showed that although Galvin claimed he had never been sued and had no children, he was taken to court in 2006 in Orange County, California, over child support payments for a son he fathered with a woman he met while living there. Asked about the suit, which followed him to Pinellas County, Galvin initially claimed it had been dismissed. Confronted with court documents from California, he later admitted the dispute ended in 2009 when he agreed to pay child support.

In a brief conversation with a reporter on Friday, Bardine said he was unaware of the lawsuit, or that Galvin had a child. If he'd known the truth, he said, he never would have allowed his candidate to say otherwise.

About the blog

Bay Buzz is your source for Tampa Bay politics news and discussion. Tampa Bay Times writers offer the latest in Tampa Bay politics and government news from Pinellas County, Hillsborough County, Pasco County and Hernando County. Keep in mind: This is a public forum sponsored and maintained by the Tampa Bay Times. When you post comments here, what you say becomes public and could appear in the newspaper.